Paul Hyde
Birth namePaul Reginald Nelson
Born (1955-05-21) 21 May 1955 (age 68)
Harrogate, Yorkshire, England, UK
GenresPunk, new wave, folk, rock
Instrument(s)vocals, guitar, keyboards
Years active1978–present
LabelsA&M, Capitol/EMI, Broken Records, Bongo Beat

Paul Reginald Nelson[citation needed] (born 21 May 1955),[1][additional citation(s) needed] known by the stage name Paul Hyde, is a British-born Canadian singer-songwriter.

He co-founded the rock band Payola$ with Bob Rock, serving as the band's main lyricist and vocalist. He later performed and recorded with Rock under the band name Rock and Hyde and has released six solo albums over his musical career.

Early life

Born in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England, Hyde emigrated to Canada at 15 years of age, settling in Victoria, British Columbia.[2][3] Hyde met Bob Rock while the pair were attending Belmont High School in Langford, a Victoria suburb.[4] Rock, who moved to Victoria from Winnipeg at age 12, described his first encounter with Hyde to the Times Colonist in 2007: "He had his hair all cut off, and later I found out it was because he wanted to look like a skinhead when he immigrated to Canada so he wouldn't get beat up. Being such a fan of English culture and bands, I saw this kid standing there in a long trenchcoat and shaved head and I went, 'That's a guy I wanna know.'"[4]

The two connected on their love of glam rock and were both interested in the burgeoning Vancouver punk scene.[4][5] Hyde traveled multiple times between England and Canada in his youth, bringing Rock with him on one occasion.[5][6] In the mid-1970s, Hyde and Rock formed the Paul Kane Blues Band and toured Vancouver Island.[4]

Career

Payolas, Tears are Not Enough, Rock and Hyde (1978–1988)

In the late 1970s, Hyde followed Rock to Vancouver after Rock landed a job as an apprentice recording engineer at Little Mountain Sound Studios and was working with many bands from Vancouver's punk scene.[5]

In 1978 the two men formed the punk-influenced rock band Payolas and released their first single "China Boys" on their own Slophouse label the following year.[2][7] The song, whose lyrics reference the westernization of China, attracted the attention of A&M Records.[8] Their four track EP Introducing Payola$ was released by A&M in 1980.[8] The band recorded 1981's In a Place Like This, first at Little Mountain Sound Studios, then completed at the famed Le Studio in Morin-Heights, Quebec.[7] The album's sound contained both reggae and ska influences.[7] Produced by Rock, In a Place Like This was a critical success, but didn't do well commercially.[7][9]

The band attracted the attention of famed British songwriter and producer Mick Ronson, who produced Payolas' 1982 album No Stranger to Danger.[10] Incorporating elements of reggae, pop, punk, and new wave, No Stranger to Danger included the hit single (No. 4) in "Eyes of a Stranger", which won the Juno Award for best single.[11][12] Junos were also given to Rock and Hyde for their songwriting, Rock was awarded Recording Engineer of the Year, and the band as a whole won the Most Promising Group.[12]

In 1985, Hyde was a co-writer of the No. 1 Canadian charity single "Tears Are Not Enough" by Northern Lights.[13] He was one of over 40 vocalists featured on the song.[13] Hyde and Rock came up with the song's title and contributed to the French lyrics along with Rachel Paiement, receiving co-writer credits on the song along with Bryan Adams, David Foster, Paiement and Jim Vallance.[14][15]

Hyde and Rock, whose band was now known as Paul Hyde and the Payolas, released the David Foster produced Here's the World for Ya in 1985. Hyde, Rock, and Miriam Nelson (who is also Hyde's wife) were recognised at the 1987 Performing Rights Organization of Canada Limited (PROCAN) awards presentation for their writing contributions to the album. Despite the critical acclaim, disappointing sales resulted in them dropped by A&M. In 1987 the pair signed with Capitol/EMI and put out one album, Under the Volcano, in 1987, this time credited as Rock and Hyde.

In 1985, producer and songwriter David Foster helped assemble the supergroup Northern Lights to record the song "Tears Are Not Enough".[13] Hyde was one of over 40 vocalists featured on the song and Rock served as one of the engineers.[13] Rock and Hyde came up with the song's title and contributed to the French lyrics along with Rachel Paiement, receiving co-writer credits on the song along with Bryan Adams, Foster, Paiement and Jim Vallance.[14][16]

Solo work (1989–2002)

In 1988, Hyde, Murray McLauchlan and Tom Cochrane collaborated on the single "Let The Good Guys Win". The song was written by McLauchlan as a Christmas gift to the people of Capitol Records. That same year Hyde traveled to Los Angeles to record his debut solo album, Turtle Island, with producer Davitt Sigerson.

The album single "America is Sexy" the song was ranked as No. 23 of the top 25 Cancon songs of the year in 1988 and reached No. 28 on the RPM 100 Singles chart of 23–28 October. The album also appeared on the RPM Top 100 Albums chart in 1989.[17]

Hyde released his next album Love and the Great Depression on the independent Canadian record label, Broken Records, in 1996. Hyde followed this album with Living off the Radar, which was released in 2000 by EMI Music Canada. Bob Rock produced the album and co-wrote some of the songs. In 2002 Hyde released The Big Book of Sad Songs, Volume 1 on the independent label, Bongo Beat.

Payolas reunion (2003–2008)

Rock and Hyde played live in Vancouver in 2003, reformed as The Payolas.[18] An EP called "Missing Links" was released for a charitable foundation, consisting of previously-unreleased Payolas songs and demos, a couple of which had surfaced earlier, in slightly different productions, on Hyde's solo album Living off the Radar.[citation needed]

In 2006 they reunited once more and on July 17, 2007, the Payola$ released a seven-song EP, Langford (Part One).[19][20] It was announced that there would be a full length follow-up to the Langford (Part One) EP, possibly incorporating some of the EP's tracks, however this release never materialized.[20]

The band stopped performing live as of 2008, and the official Payolas website shut down in 2009.[citation needed] In a 2018 interview with the Canadian music magazine, Music Express, Hyde indicated that a Payolas reunion was not imminent, not for lack of interest by his band mate Rock, but due in part to Hyde's fear of live performances.[21]

Further solo work and work as a visual artist (2009–present)

In 2009 Paul Hyde resumed his solo career, releasing his fifth studio album Peace Sign, followed nine years later with the 2018 release No Gods, Just Men.[22][23]

In a 2020 interview with the Vancouver Sun, Hyde said that he hadn't performed live music in five years and had changed his creative focus towards visual art.[24] Hyde exhibited 26 of his collages at Chernoff Fine Art in Vancouver in 2020.[24]

Discography

Solo albums

Personal life

Paul has three children with ex-wife Myriam Nelson.[25] He has a son and twin daughters.[26][27]

References

  1. ^ Monchuk, Judy (18 February 1984). "Payola$: Music with a message". Red Deer Advocate. Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. p. 1C. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b McLaughlin, John P. (11 April 2002). "For every song there's a story". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. B4. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  3. ^ "Rock and Hyde set for spring tour". North Bay Nugget. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Canadian Press. 22 May 1987. p. 18. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c d Devlin, Mike (9 January 2007). "Bob Rock". Times Colonist. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. p. D4. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  5. ^ a b c Barclay, Michael; Jack, Ian A.D.; Schneider, Jason (June 2011). Have Not Been The Same; The CanRock Renaissance 1985-1995. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: ECW Press. ISBN 9781554909681.
  6. ^ Laycock, John (11 May 1985). "Payolas poised for paydirt". Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c d Harrison, Tom (30 July 1981). "Payola hurting more at home". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. D2. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b Williams, Isaac (28 June 1980). "Rock". Victoria Times. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. p. 31. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Hall, Neal (11 February 1982). "Mick Ronson rocks Payola$ into shape". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. C3. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ McIlroy, Randal (19 May 1982). "Payolas travel in good company". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. p. 30. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  11. ^ MacPhee-Sigurdson, Ben (30 June 2017). "Eyes of a Stranger". Winnipeg Free Press. Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. p. D5. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  12. ^ a b "The winners in a nutshell". Calgary Herald. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Canadian Press. 6 April 1983. p. D7. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b c d Boyd, Denny (13 February 1985). "Canadian voices cry out to help the starving". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. A3. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ a b Patch, Nick (9 April 2010). "'Tears' turns 25: Foster, Murray, Hart reflect on 'Tears Are Not Enough'". Whitehorse Daily Star. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Canadian Press. p. 44. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Harrison, Tom (11 February 1985). "Musician's aid hungry". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. 8. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Harrison, Tom (11 February 1985). "Musician's aid hungry". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. 8. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "RPM Top 100 Albums". RPM Magazine Volume 50, No. 24 October 14, 1989.
  18. ^ Harrison, Tom (30 November 2003). "The Payola$ have a story to tell". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. C18. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Wilton, Lisa (30 June 2006). "Cha-Ching! Paul Hyde and Bob Rock Restart The Payola$". Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alberta, Canada. p. SW07. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  20. ^ a b Lee, Jenny (28 July 2007). "'Payola' isn't a dirty word to Bob Rock". The Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. F2. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ Sharp, Keith (21 March 2018). "Payolas Icon Adapting Low Key Approach". Music Express. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  22. ^ "B.C. CD of the week: Paul Hyde: Peace Sign". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 24 November 2009. p. B4. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  23. ^ Peebles, Frank (16 October 2002). "Dani & Lizzi headline pair of weekend shows". Prince George Citizen. Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. p. A2. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  24. ^ a b Mackie, John (8 February 2020). "Paul Hyde's rhinestone artwork comes to life". Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. C15. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ Parry, Malcolm (26 March 1999). "Chess whiz doesn't have an enemy in the world". Vancouver Sun. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. A3. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ Gill, Alexandra (16 October 2002). "The eyes of a gangsta". The Globe and Mail. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. p. R2. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  27. ^ McIntyre, Gordon (25 September 2013). "Songwriters strike chord of solace". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. p. A3. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via Newspapers.com.

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